Palm Springs Clears Way For New College Campus

Palm Springs will soon boast a community college campus, now that the city has approved a a land transfer between with the Desert Community College District.

The Palm Springs City Council Wednesday approved transferring of 119 acres of city-owned land to become the College of the Desert’s new West Valley Campus, said city spokeswoman Amy Blaisdell.

Construction on the campus, at the northwest corner of Tramview Road and Indian Canyon Drive, is expected to begin in early 2011, Blaisdell said.

Mayor Steve Pougnet said city officials are excited about the project.

“The West Valley Campus will be one of the most green and clean in the country and will set the gold standard when it comes to educating thousands of students for the next generation of green jobs,” Pougnet said.

The campus will feature a 70-acre “green park,” that will include solar panels for renewable energy production, according to a city report.

The city purchased the land in July 2010 for about $2 million from the Bureau of Land Management, the report states.